Archive for category Bait and Switch
So It Begins: Obama’s Thesis
Posted by John Romano in Bait and Switch, Politics on October 23, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – Some media watchers have always found the absolute lock-down of President Obama’s college records as a quasi-conspiracy meant to hide something from Mr. Obama’s past. It is fair to say, as many have, that it is strange that Michele Obama’s thesis has seen the light of day, while the President’s own work remains hidden.
On August 25, 2009 a blogger named Matthew Avitabile attributed the following quotes to Barack Obama, purportedly from his senior seminar paper “Aristocracy Reborn”:
“There are many who will defend the ‘free market.’ But who will defend the single mother of four working three jobs. When a system is allowed to be free at the expense of its citizens, then it is tyranny.”
And
“… the Constitution allows for many things, but what it does not allow is the most revealing. The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom. While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy.”
The article byline lists the name Brian Lancaster, it is unclear if he or Mr. Avitabile is the author. We at YBH call on Mr. Avitabile to site his sources or retract the statements. Read the rest of this entry »
OPINION: Olympia Snowe Mr. Obama Is Referring To You
Posted by John Romano in Bait and Switch, Opinion on October 22, 2009
Barack Obama told a group of supporters in New York Tuesday that “you know the other [republican] side they just kind a sometimes do what they are told. Democrats y’all thinking for yourselves.”
Let me get this right. Those that blindly follow you and your platform are thinking for themselves and those that disagree with you “do what they are told.” Read the rest of this entry »
Did Fox News Back Down After White House Criticism?
Posted by John Romano in Bait and Switch on October 20, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) – Fox News has been embroiled in a battle of wills recently with Barack Obama’s White House. Last week White House Communications Director Anita Dunn lambasted Fox News for what she sees as agenda journalism. On Sunday, President Obama’s top deputies urged Fox’s competing networks to basically ignore Fox as a real news outlet. Over at Fox, commentator Chris Wallace called out the White House for refusing to send a representative to his show, claiming the White House is only interested in talking with friendly interviewers.
Fox News battles Anita Dunn and the White House.
Is Fox getting the message? Certainly, something is up. On October 17th a group called Operation: Can You Hear Us Now? held tea parties in select cities across the United States. The protests were held to “to show the MSM [mainstream media] that we as the American Public are absolutely fed up with their journalistic malpractice.” Fox mentioned the tea parties on FoxNews.com, but devoted little or no time to the protests on Fox’s mainstay cable channel. Fox covered the 9/12 and tax day tea parties extensively. What happened? Read the rest of this entry »
Quick Hit: Chris Matthews Fantasizes About Rush Limbaugh’s Death?
Posted by Alan Smithee in Bait and Switch on October 13, 2009
LOS ANGELES (YBH.ME) -Last night MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews talked openly about the idea of Rush Limbaugh being silenced in a manner usually reserved for James Bond villains.
Mr. Matthews may have realized he “stepped in it” when his guest didn’t react positively to his comments. Conservatives are sure to have a field day with Mr. Matthews comments. The phrase double-standard will likely be thrown around in coming days from the GOP and conservative media watchers, as many on the right feel that they are held to a tougher standard when it comes to criticism of the left.
B&S: Dennis Miller Takes on Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, Sort Of
Posted by John Romano and Laura Glendinning in Bait and Switch on October 8, 2009
Today marks the addition of a new feature here at Yes, But, However! “Bait and Switch” or B&S, pun intended. We’ll chronicle web news and opinion outlets’ misleading or over-hyped headlines. The point is to highlight the instances when, for example, Daily Kos, FOX, MSNBC, or Hot Air report a story highlighting the foibles on the right or left while ignoring the same misdeeds on the other side.
Our first installment targets a mild form of Huffington Post mislead. The headline reads “Dennis Miller Knocks Hannity, Beck On Fox News.” Actually, Mr. Miller simply calls Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck partisans. It can easily be argued that Sean Hannity is a GOP partisan, but we concur with Mr. O’Reilly that Mr. Beck is just “a guy! He’s not a journalist, he’s a guy.” Mr. Beck’s status as a regular Joe apparently scares the left terribly. Mr. Beck is actually more like Howard Beale than anything else. The Huffington Post only highlights the 4 minutes of the clip that drives their headline and leaves out the beginning of the exchange.
Video of the entire clip below:
We chose this as our first installment because it is impossible to imagine The Huffington Post including a piece about someone on the left knocking Keith Olbermann. The story is currently running on The Huffington Post’s homepage. Read the rest of this entry »